събота, 20 ноември 2010 г.
Adding Sound Effects and Audio controls to Sony Movie Studio
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRKh9VJowLY&feature=related
петък, 19 ноември 2010 г.
how to synch audio and video in Sony Vegas
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3Hk2-zYoE8&feature=related
четвъртък, 18 ноември 2010 г.
понеделник, 15 ноември 2010 г.
петък, 12 ноември 2010 г.
четвъртък, 11 ноември 2010 г.
вторник, 9 ноември 2010 г.
петък, 5 ноември 2010 г.
What is a DI box. When it is used?
DI Box - What is It?
This content is brought to you by Audiocourses dot com
Recording direct is also known as Direct Injection or DI. The electric guitar produces an electrical signal, so it can be plugged right into the mixing console - no microphone is needed. Because the mix and guitar amp are bypassed, the sound is clean and clear, it lacks distortion and colouration or the amp.
You need a DI box because there is a frequent requirement to interface equipment that has basically non standard unbalanced outputs with the standard balanced inputs of mixers, either at line level or microphone level. An electric guitar, for example, has an unbalanced output of fairly high impedance - around 10 kilo ohms or so. The standard output socket is the 'mono' quarter-inch jack, and output voltage levels of around a volt or so (with the guitar's volume controls set to maximum) can be expected.
Plugging the guitar directly into the mic or line level input of a mixer is unsatisfactory for several reasons:
* the input impedance of the mixer will be too low for the guitar, which likes to drive impedances of 500 kilo ohms or more;
* the guitar output is unbalanced so the interference-rejecting properties of the mixer's balanced input will be lost;
* the high output impedance of the guitar renders it incapable of driving long studio tie-lines;
* and the guitarist will frequently wish to plug the instrument into an amplifier as well as the mixer, and simply using the same guitar output to feed both via a splitter lead electrically connects the amplifier to the studio equipment which causes severe interference and low-frequency hum problems.
Similar problems are encountered with other instruments such as synthesisers, electric pianos, and pickup systems for acoustic instruments.
To connect such an instrument with the mixer, a special interfacing unit known as a DI box (DI=direct injection) is therefore employed. This unit will convert the instrument's output to a low-impedance balanced signal, and also reduce its output level to the milli volt range suitable for feeding a microphone input. In addition to the input jack socket, it will also have an output jack socket so that the instrument's unprocessed signal can be passed to an amplifier as well. The low-impedance balanced output appears on a standard three-pin XLR panel-mounted plug which can now be looked upon as the output of a microphone.
An earth-lift switch is also provided which isolates the earth of the input and output jack sockets from the XLR output, to trap earth loop problems.
Passive DI box
The simplest DI boxes contain just a transformer, and are termed 'passive' because they require no power supply. The transformer in this case has a 20:1 step-down ratio, converting the fairly high output of the instrument to a lower output suitable for feeding microphone lines. Impedance is converted according to the square of the turns ratio (400:1), so a typical guitar output impedance of 15 kilo ohms will be stepped down to about 40 ohms which is comfortably low enough to drive long microphone lines. But the guitar itself likes to look into a high impedance.
The transformer isolates the instrument from phantom power on the microphone line.
This type of DI box design has the advantages of being cheap, simple, and requiring no power source - there are no internal batteries to forget to change. On the other hand, its input and output impedances are entirely dependent on the reflected impedances each side of the transformer. Unusually low microphone input impedances will give insufficiently high impedances for many guitars. Also, instruments with passive volume controls can exhibit output impedances as high as 200 kilo Ohms with the control turned down a few numbers from maximum, and this will cause too high an impedance at the output of the DI box for driving long lines. The fixed turns ratio of the transformer is not equally suited to the wide variety of instruments the DI box will encounter, although several units have additional switches which alter the transformer tapping giving different degrees of attenuation.
Active DI box
The active DI box replaces the transformer with an electronic circuit which presents a constant very high impedance to the instrument and provides a constant low- impedance output. The box is powered either by internal batteries, or preferably by the phantom power on the microphone line.
If batteries are used, the box should include an indication of battery status; a 'test switch is often included which lights an LED when the battery is good. Alternatively, an LED comes on as a warning when the voltage of the battery drops below a certain level. The make-and-break contacts of the input jack socket are often configured so that insertion of the jack plug automatically switches the unit on. One should be mindful of this because if the jack plug is left plugged into the unit overnight, for instance, this will waste battery power. Usually the current consumption of the DI box is just a few milliamps, so the battery will last for perhaps a hundred hours.
Some guitar and keyboard amplifiers offer a separate balanced output on an XLR socket labelled 'DI' or 'studio' which is intended to replace the DI box, and it is often convenient to use this instead.
DI boxes are generally small and light, and they spend much of their time on the floor being kicked around and trodden on by musicians and sound engineers. Therefore, rugged metal boxes should be used (not plastic) and any switches, LEDs, etc. should be mounted such that they are recessed or shrouded for protection. Switches should not be easily moved by trailing guitar leads and feet. The DI box can also be used for interfacing domestic hi-fi equipment such as cassette recorders and radio tuners with balanced microphone inputs.
Related: Looking for a good DI Box
More info
Ohm
impedance
This content is brought to you by Audiocourses dot com
Recording direct is also known as Direct Injection or DI. The electric guitar produces an electrical signal, so it can be plugged right into the mixing console - no microphone is needed. Because the mix and guitar amp are bypassed, the sound is clean and clear, it lacks distortion and colouration or the amp.
You need a DI box because there is a frequent requirement to interface equipment that has basically non standard unbalanced outputs with the standard balanced inputs of mixers, either at line level or microphone level. An electric guitar, for example, has an unbalanced output of fairly high impedance - around 10 kilo ohms or so. The standard output socket is the 'mono' quarter-inch jack, and output voltage levels of around a volt or so (with the guitar's volume controls set to maximum) can be expected.
Plugging the guitar directly into the mic or line level input of a mixer is unsatisfactory for several reasons:
* the input impedance of the mixer will be too low for the guitar, which likes to drive impedances of 500 kilo ohms or more;
* the guitar output is unbalanced so the interference-rejecting properties of the mixer's balanced input will be lost;
* the high output impedance of the guitar renders it incapable of driving long studio tie-lines;
* and the guitarist will frequently wish to plug the instrument into an amplifier as well as the mixer, and simply using the same guitar output to feed both via a splitter lead electrically connects the amplifier to the studio equipment which causes severe interference and low-frequency hum problems.
Similar problems are encountered with other instruments such as synthesisers, electric pianos, and pickup systems for acoustic instruments.
To connect such an instrument with the mixer, a special interfacing unit known as a DI box (DI=direct injection) is therefore employed. This unit will convert the instrument's output to a low-impedance balanced signal, and also reduce its output level to the milli volt range suitable for feeding a microphone input. In addition to the input jack socket, it will also have an output jack socket so that the instrument's unprocessed signal can be passed to an amplifier as well. The low-impedance balanced output appears on a standard three-pin XLR panel-mounted plug which can now be looked upon as the output of a microphone.
An earth-lift switch is also provided which isolates the earth of the input and output jack sockets from the XLR output, to trap earth loop problems.
Passive DI box
The simplest DI boxes contain just a transformer, and are termed 'passive' because they require no power supply. The transformer in this case has a 20:1 step-down ratio, converting the fairly high output of the instrument to a lower output suitable for feeding microphone lines. Impedance is converted according to the square of the turns ratio (400:1), so a typical guitar output impedance of 15 kilo ohms will be stepped down to about 40 ohms which is comfortably low enough to drive long microphone lines. But the guitar itself likes to look into a high impedance.
The transformer isolates the instrument from phantom power on the microphone line.
This type of DI box design has the advantages of being cheap, simple, and requiring no power source - there are no internal batteries to forget to change. On the other hand, its input and output impedances are entirely dependent on the reflected impedances each side of the transformer. Unusually low microphone input impedances will give insufficiently high impedances for many guitars. Also, instruments with passive volume controls can exhibit output impedances as high as 200 kilo Ohms with the control turned down a few numbers from maximum, and this will cause too high an impedance at the output of the DI box for driving long lines. The fixed turns ratio of the transformer is not equally suited to the wide variety of instruments the DI box will encounter, although several units have additional switches which alter the transformer tapping giving different degrees of attenuation.
Active DI box
The active DI box replaces the transformer with an electronic circuit which presents a constant very high impedance to the instrument and provides a constant low- impedance output. The box is powered either by internal batteries, or preferably by the phantom power on the microphone line.
If batteries are used, the box should include an indication of battery status; a 'test switch is often included which lights an LED when the battery is good. Alternatively, an LED comes on as a warning when the voltage of the battery drops below a certain level. The make-and-break contacts of the input jack socket are often configured so that insertion of the jack plug automatically switches the unit on. One should be mindful of this because if the jack plug is left plugged into the unit overnight, for instance, this will waste battery power. Usually the current consumption of the DI box is just a few milliamps, so the battery will last for perhaps a hundred hours.
Some guitar and keyboard amplifiers offer a separate balanced output on an XLR socket labelled 'DI' or 'studio' which is intended to replace the DI box, and it is often convenient to use this instead.
DI boxes are generally small and light, and they spend much of their time on the floor being kicked around and trodden on by musicians and sound engineers. Therefore, rugged metal boxes should be used (not plastic) and any switches, LEDs, etc. should be mounted such that they are recessed or shrouded for protection. Switches should not be easily moved by trailing guitar leads and feet. The DI box can also be used for interfacing domestic hi-fi equipment such as cassette recorders and radio tuners with balanced microphone inputs.
Related: Looking for a good DI Box
More info
Ohm
impedance
сряда, 3 ноември 2010 г.
вторник, 2 ноември 2010 г.
A Basic Guide For Mixing Rock Music
When mixing music, especially when you’re just getting started, it’s helpful to have a guide--some kind of step-by-step plan in front of you to follow. That is the purpose of this brief article. Below you will find the basic steps I use every time I mix a song. I hope you find it helpful.
As you begin it’s helpful to remember that mixing is an art form. While there is a bit of science involved and the more you learn about the scientific laws of acoustics, frequencies, etc. the better you will become at mixing. But, in the end—it all comes down to the ears of the mixing engineer.
This article is just a very basic guide. I would encourage you to do further study on musical frequencies, EQing audio, acoustics, using a compressor, etc. You can do a web search for just about any aspect of the mixing process and find loads of helpful articles on the subject. Become a student of mixing! It will pay off big-time. In the mean time this guide will get you started in the right direction.
NOTE: This is general advice, so feel free to ignore it if you are going for a specific sound.
FIRST--RECORDING: I'm assuming you have all the tracks recorded. Don’t devalue the importance of getting a great recording. Learn all you can about acoustics, rooms, miking techniques, etc. A great recording is easy to mix and master. A bad recording can easily become a nightmare that all the mixing in the world can’t fix.
SECOND--EQing: You want to cut out any frequencies below 100Hz--from all instruments except the BASS GUITAR.. you want the bass to carry those low frequencies. By cutting these frequencies out of the other tracks (guitars, keyboard, vocals, etc.) you will: a) keep your mix from becoming muddy down low, and b) allow the bass guitar to really shine through in the mix. You may or may not want to apply this cut to your kick drum. It all depends on the recorded sound of the kick drum and the sound you are going for. But generally speaking, kick drums benefit from rolling of all the frequencies under 50 Hz. These are inaudible frequencies. They are important—in that they are “felt”, but they can also be “trouble makers” because they can easily over power a mix making it “boomy” and hard to manage. So, rolling these low frequencies off of everything except the bass guitar is generally a good thing. You can also give the kick drum a boost around 10K to enhance the sound of the beater and get that cool “click” sound so popular in modern hard rock and metal music.
THRID--DO AN INITIAL ROUGH MIX: Set the instruments and vocals in the stereo field where you want them by panning things to the left and right to taste. Always keep your kick drum, bass guitar, and lead vocal in the dead center. And set the volume of each track to a level that sounds relatively good to you. THIS ISYOUR STARTING POINT. From this point on you begin adding effects and tweaking things to taste.
FOURTH--MORE Eqing: At this point you are going to be making smaller changes to tracks in order to help them blend and work together. You won’t be cranking on the faders. You’ll be much more subtle in your approach. The best method for tweak tracks and getting them to blend is “negative EQing.” In negative EQing you cut frequencies at specific places in order to let other instruments shine through in the mix.
This is where you need a “spectrum analyzer”. You can pick a free plugin VST version online for free or very cheap. Just do a search for “Free Spectrum Analyzer.” I would also recommend that you pick up a parametric EQ. A graphic EQ will work for this, but a parametric is better. If you aren’t sure what the difference is between this. Do some research. Look up some articles on both and educate yourself.
Now, let’s say you want your vocals to shine through. You would first solo your vocal track and turn the Spectrum Analyzer on in that track. Observe the frequency range for the vocal track. Where is it the strongest and best sounding? Most vocals are strong and sound best somewhere between 1 & 6 K. So, you identify the “sweet spot” in your vocal track … say it’s at 4K. You would then go in and cut the 4K frequency in the "competing" tracks (guitars, bass, etc.) minus the drums – I generally don’t mess with the drums. You don’t need to make a BIG cut… just about 1dB. You’ll be amazed what a small amount will do. Then go listen and see if your vocal cuts through better. If you’re happy—great. If you want more, simply go in and make the cut a little bigger. Continue this process until you get it dialed in.
FIVE—REPEAT THIS PROCESS FOR EACH INSTRUMENT: Locate the “sweet spot” frequency” – the place where that instrument sounds best and make a little cut in the competing instruments to allow it to shine through.
A COUPLE OBVIOUS THOUGHTS:
Yes—you will occasionally run into a situation where two instruments sound best within the same frequency range. In this case—you simply have to experiment. Try cutting frequencies here and there (not in a permanent destructive fashion—of course) and see what sounds best. Often times you’ll find that the cuts you make won’t necessarily sound good when the track is soloed, but when everything is played together is sounds great!
Also—you will want to give special priority to certain tracks. For example. Your rhythm guitars can handle a lot of cuts and still provide a nice solid rhythm section. So don’t stress about making the rhythm guitars “shine through” in the mix. You want to focus on the “spot light” tracks like, lead vocals, lead guitar, and any other track that you just feel is especially important to the sound of that song.
Feel free to apply ANY effects – phase, flange, chorus, reverb, delay, compression-- etc., you like in the mixing stage--THIS IS THE TIME TO DO IT. It won't affect the mastering process at all.
Once you get a track sounding the way you want it--mix the whole song down to a single stereo wav file and send me that file.
THE ONE THING YOU DO NOT WANT is "distortion"... i.e. when you listen to the tracks--you shouldn't hear them "crackling" or "breaking up" anywhere... if you want to know what digital distortion sounds like... just crank all your tracks up above "0 dB" and you'll get a taste... it's nasty... and mastering can't fix it.
As you begin it’s helpful to remember that mixing is an art form. While there is a bit of science involved and the more you learn about the scientific laws of acoustics, frequencies, etc. the better you will become at mixing. But, in the end—it all comes down to the ears of the mixing engineer.
This article is just a very basic guide. I would encourage you to do further study on musical frequencies, EQing audio, acoustics, using a compressor, etc. You can do a web search for just about any aspect of the mixing process and find loads of helpful articles on the subject. Become a student of mixing! It will pay off big-time. In the mean time this guide will get you started in the right direction.
NOTE: This is general advice, so feel free to ignore it if you are going for a specific sound.
FIRST--RECORDING: I'm assuming you have all the tracks recorded. Don’t devalue the importance of getting a great recording. Learn all you can about acoustics, rooms, miking techniques, etc. A great recording is easy to mix and master. A bad recording can easily become a nightmare that all the mixing in the world can’t fix.
SECOND--EQing: You want to cut out any frequencies below 100Hz--from all instruments except the BASS GUITAR.. you want the bass to carry those low frequencies. By cutting these frequencies out of the other tracks (guitars, keyboard, vocals, etc.) you will: a) keep your mix from becoming muddy down low, and b) allow the bass guitar to really shine through in the mix. You may or may not want to apply this cut to your kick drum. It all depends on the recorded sound of the kick drum and the sound you are going for. But generally speaking, kick drums benefit from rolling of all the frequencies under 50 Hz. These are inaudible frequencies. They are important—in that they are “felt”, but they can also be “trouble makers” because they can easily over power a mix making it “boomy” and hard to manage. So, rolling these low frequencies off of everything except the bass guitar is generally a good thing. You can also give the kick drum a boost around 10K to enhance the sound of the beater and get that cool “click” sound so popular in modern hard rock and metal music.
THRID--DO AN INITIAL ROUGH MIX: Set the instruments and vocals in the stereo field where you want them by panning things to the left and right to taste. Always keep your kick drum, bass guitar, and lead vocal in the dead center. And set the volume of each track to a level that sounds relatively good to you. THIS ISYOUR STARTING POINT. From this point on you begin adding effects and tweaking things to taste.
FOURTH--MORE Eqing: At this point you are going to be making smaller changes to tracks in order to help them blend and work together. You won’t be cranking on the faders. You’ll be much more subtle in your approach. The best method for tweak tracks and getting them to blend is “negative EQing.” In negative EQing you cut frequencies at specific places in order to let other instruments shine through in the mix.
This is where you need a “spectrum analyzer”. You can pick a free plugin VST version online for free or very cheap. Just do a search for “Free Spectrum Analyzer.” I would also recommend that you pick up a parametric EQ. A graphic EQ will work for this, but a parametric is better. If you aren’t sure what the difference is between this. Do some research. Look up some articles on both and educate yourself.
Now, let’s say you want your vocals to shine through. You would first solo your vocal track and turn the Spectrum Analyzer on in that track. Observe the frequency range for the vocal track. Where is it the strongest and best sounding? Most vocals are strong and sound best somewhere between 1 & 6 K. So, you identify the “sweet spot” in your vocal track … say it’s at 4K. You would then go in and cut the 4K frequency in the "competing" tracks (guitars, bass, etc.) minus the drums – I generally don’t mess with the drums. You don’t need to make a BIG cut… just about 1dB. You’ll be amazed what a small amount will do. Then go listen and see if your vocal cuts through better. If you’re happy—great. If you want more, simply go in and make the cut a little bigger. Continue this process until you get it dialed in.
FIVE—REPEAT THIS PROCESS FOR EACH INSTRUMENT: Locate the “sweet spot” frequency” – the place where that instrument sounds best and make a little cut in the competing instruments to allow it to shine through.
A COUPLE OBVIOUS THOUGHTS:
Yes—you will occasionally run into a situation where two instruments sound best within the same frequency range. In this case—you simply have to experiment. Try cutting frequencies here and there (not in a permanent destructive fashion—of course) and see what sounds best. Often times you’ll find that the cuts you make won’t necessarily sound good when the track is soloed, but when everything is played together is sounds great!
Also—you will want to give special priority to certain tracks. For example. Your rhythm guitars can handle a lot of cuts and still provide a nice solid rhythm section. So don’t stress about making the rhythm guitars “shine through” in the mix. You want to focus on the “spot light” tracks like, lead vocals, lead guitar, and any other track that you just feel is especially important to the sound of that song.
Feel free to apply ANY effects – phase, flange, chorus, reverb, delay, compression-- etc., you like in the mixing stage--THIS IS THE TIME TO DO IT. It won't affect the mastering process at all.
Once you get a track sounding the way you want it--mix the whole song down to a single stereo wav file and send me that file.
THE ONE THING YOU DO NOT WANT is "distortion"... i.e. when you listen to the tracks--you shouldn't hear them "crackling" or "breaking up" anywhere... if you want to know what digital distortion sounds like... just crank all your tracks up above "0 dB" and you'll get a taste... it's nasty... and mastering can't fix it.
